Street Talk
Fresh ideas about design
Lines in a Sketchbook: A Creative Catalogue
04.2015
By Joe Bevins, LEED Green Associate
In the 2009 movie “Up in the Air,” George Clooney’s character states, “Photos are for people who can’t remember.” Now, I don’t entirely agree with this statement. I’m somewhat addicted to Instagram and enjoy looking to old pictures. However, Mr. Clooney’s quote raises an interesting point—how do we remember the places, people and events in our ...
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Market Places—Morocco
04.2015
By Michael A. Stern, ASLA, LEED AP
Everyone seems to love a good farmers market these days. Goodness knows my wife does – it seemed like she visited every one available in the City of Philadelphia after living here for only a week. And I do too. As a confirmed foodie, I love scrutinizing the latest offering of local wild mushrooms – ...
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Captivated at the Cleveland Museum of Art
03.2015
By I-Shan Tam
Last year, I had the chance to visit Cleveland with a small group of Chinese Conversation Club members from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Volunteers of the Club used this trip to introduce Chinese culture to others through food and art. We drove to Cleveland to enjoy dim sum, a traditional Chinese cuisine, for lunch. ...
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Turning the lights back on along the Delaware Waterfront
02.2015
By Aaron Bell
In light of recent news, it’s hard not to get excited about the PECO Power Station as it is now under new ownership with bold plans for the future. Back in 2011, during my thesis year of architecture school at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, I focused my research and design proposal on ...
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Storytelling in Architecture: Learning from Pixar
02.2015
By Grace Ding
Story is important in architecture. It is seen in how a new building continues the story of an existing place. It is used verbally to convey how a design was developed. And it is experienced as one moves through the resulting spaces of a project. Story is everywhere, whether we are aware of it or ...
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New hotel opens in a very convenient location
01.2015
By Leah Patgorski
A new Hotel Monaco opened yesterday, after months of anticipation, in the 1903 Duquesne Light Company Building. Strada has enjoyed a daily view of the countdown to this opening because our new Pittsburgh office overlooks the hotel’s primary entrance on William Penn Way. We have seen doormen trained, windows polished, and leafy festoons added to ...
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Reinvigorating our industrial loft in Philadelphia
12.2014
By Stacey Humphreys Blankin, LEED ND
Creating a dynamic workspace is a messy business. We have been learning this first-hand in Philadelphia where we are immersed in the excitement of an extensive renovation, and a fair amount of dust! No more private offices. Gone are the built-in partitions that delineated expansive (by today’s standards) work surfaces where architects once drafted by ...
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Going Fast in Low Gear
12.2014
By Alan J. Cuteri
Technology continues to evolve and accelerate, affecting most everything we do. The avalanche of apps and smart technology over the past decade has created a robust level of expectations that everything can be accomplished at the speed of an electron. It is exciting and also brain numbing for anyone over 50, but we learn to ...
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First glimpses of Pittsburgh’s Bakery Living
06.2014
By Street Talk Editor
Sixteen months after a chilly groundbreaking in February 2013, a new type of apartment building for Pittsburgh is nearing completion in the East End. As construction crews finalize their work on Bakery Living, at least 50% of the 175 apartments are already occupied and residents continue to arrive. Their new digs feature a unique set ...
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Congress for New Urbanism awards ongoing success of Market Square Place
06.2014
By Administrator
The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) honored the Market Square Place project with a Charter Award of Merit for the Best Block as part of its 2014 Global Awards Program for Excellence in Urban Design. Designed by Strada and developed by Millcraft Investments, Market Square Place exemplifies the tenets of smart urban development. By joining ...
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